Thirteen years ago, a group of Chinese from China who demand for their Hong Kong Residency set fire at the Immigration Building. The fire killed two people and injured 44. Leung Kam-kwong, a senior immigration officer, was killed at the fire. Shi Junlong, the leader of the protest in 2000 at the Immigration Building, was seen in Hong Kong recently and has already got his One-Way Permit to live in Hong Kong (i.e. gained permanent residency). A Immigration Department’s representative said that Shi has paid for his mistake, and the department respect the fact that he gained his residency through legal channel.

Mr Shi Junlong

The arson case happened in August 2000. Shi was originally found guilty of murder and was sentenced for life. However, after numerous appeals, his original charge and sentence were overruled in 2005. He was then sentenced eight years for man slaughter, and was released by end of 2005 and moved back to China. He was recently seen at the New Territories office of the Association for Family Reunions Limited (AFRL). In fact, he has already got his One-Way Permit to live in Hong Kong as a permanent resident and works at the AFRL as a volunteer to help Chinese from China to move to Hong Kong and “reunite” with their families. Currently 36 years old, Shi has put on weight compared to 13 years ago. He also drives a people carrier and wears branded jeans and bag. It looks like he has completely settled down in Hong Kong.

The family of Leung Kam-kwong, the immigration officer who was killed, have emigrated after the incident. 11th August marked the thirteenth year of Leung’s death, a female relative of Leung was found paying her respect at Leung’s graveyard in Gallant Garden. She declined to comment on Shi gaining Hong Kong permanent residency.

An immigration officer who worked with Leung is outraged about Shi gaining his residency and thinks that this highlighted the ridiculousness of the One-Way Permit system.

Ngai Sik-shui, Chairman of Immigration Service Officers Association, said “we all have to let go some of our sorrows, but there are of course some who would never forget.” He also said that Shi was trialed by the Hong Kong legal system and has served his time, which means he had already paid for his behaviour. He applied to come to Hong Kong via legal means, and we must respect the system.

When asked about former criminal offenders who committed serious crime in Hong Kong successfully gained his One-Way Permit, the Immigration Department said that it is the China authorities which review and approve all the applications for One-Way Permit based on China’s law, policies and administration regulations.